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Another guest, another four star. This after they stopped by to say goodbye and were positively glowing about how much they loved everything. I felt confident enough to leave a five star glowing review. (when will I learn???) Yet I got a backhanded review, four stars overall, four on cleanliness and four on value. He felt my apartment wasn’t as updated as it could be.
So discouraging. I’ve been open for almost eight years and this has been an ongoing issue. No matter what you have or offer, guests will find a way to nit pick and make you feel bad about yourself and what you offer.
BTW, here is the view from here. What do you think… Ghetto, right? Bad and lousy. Disappointing.
Don’t mind me… just trying desperately to make myself feel better after a spate of one REALLY BAD guest and two “meh” reviews with four stars and dings for location and value. So discouraged… :’(
I was just about to write about the 2nd (of 3) 4-star reviews I received. (They were all years ago and are the lowest rating I have.)
This was in the early days when I would give a discount even if the guest mentioned it was his janitor’s cousin’s birthday.
So I gave this young honeymooning couple a deal and after they left, the groom gave me my first 4-star review. The reason? Because they heard sirens! I know they were expecting fireworks but gimmie-a-break! What can I do about emergency vehicles. (Whenever I hear sirens, I always think, “oh-oh, someone’s in trouble” and I give them a kind thought.) Heck, it wasn’t even their wedding night.
Oh brother. That’s like the people who complained because there were birds singing outside.
Who invented this review nonsense anyway??? SO OVER IT!!! In the old days of Air, reviews were like an afterthought. Kind of like how they are on Trip Advisor now. You can “manage” reviews! Remove the ones you hate, LOL.
Now on Air it’s like friggin life and death. Takes the joy RIGHT out of hosting!
I find the more perks and discounts and better I treat a guest- the less stars I get. It’s weird- but it’s the way it works. Charge a lot and I get all 5 stars, if they ask for a discount and I give it to them, I get 4 stars.
Yeah because the people asking for discounts are typically those who don’t respect your price… and will always feel like they overpaid. Even if you gave it to them for $10 a night!
Kona, I’m sorry you’re going through a rough review patch. It is mind boggling that you get anything less than five stars for location. You offer incredible sunsets, ocean views and guests can see and hear humpback whales. What more could they possibly want, pearly gates and angels playing harps? I never understand when guests say that the decor is dated. Do they really expect Airbnb hosts to remodel to the latest fashion? Plus, one person’s dated is another person’s vintage.
Thanks Ellen… I love my vintage decor. I even decoupaged a 9 foot surfboard as you know, it’s the coolest thing!!!
… I try to really give Hawaiiana flair because I DON’T have granite and stainless steel. I am sooooo honest in the listing…“This is NOT a fancy resort style room, nor should you expect it to be. It’s a homey, cozy fully equipped studio in a beachy, residential subdivision.”
I think it is so unfair for them to crack you on things YOU DISCLOSE in the listing. Such as location and room description.
These guests were from a certain European country that has only send me one happy guest in the last seven years. The rest have sadly been reliably nit picking.
I guess I also feel down in the dumper because both guests that left four and complaints were people I had a rapport with. Guess not. Makes you feel so wary about trusting anyone. And that is not good.
Oh, that sucks. Those photos are beautiful, and I would love to be there right now.
It’s so demoralizing getting the star dings, and doesn’t it seem like they come in bunches sometimes? I had to laugh at a recent review that complained (in the private comments to me, thank goodness) about the green anole lizards running around in the courtyard. Note to self: stop pointing out the cute lizards sunning themselves on the deck and maybe the guests won’t notice them.
It is influenced by external factors not related to the host or the listings.
If I had a million in my bank account, a one night at €150 is nothing and appears to be great value. If I had €10 in my bank account, €150 a night is a lot.
If I live in a country that room rates in a hotel are €100 per night compared to a country that hotel room rates are €20 per night, this again influences the guest.
I had a guest give me 5 stars on everything, great review but gave me one star on value. My airbnb is exactly the same as everyone in my local area, in fact guests get a private sitting room and private bathroom. She picked my property to stay and then afterwards decided the value was one, she got exactly what I advertised on airbnb ( airbnb did the photographs). She could probably get the same in her country for €10 per day, so to her it was expensive. €10 a day would not cover electricity or gas for a day where I live (especially in winter). You won’t win with everybody, just shake yourself off and you are wasting your time and energy wondering why they dropped you one point. Don’t take it personnel and don’t let it take away from enjoying your next guest. I am almost one year doing airbnb, I don’t bother reading reviews anymore. I get loads of one nighters, I barely know them.
I agree. One of the secrets of being a happy host is to not waste your time looking at reviews or star ratings. Stressing about it, asking guests to revise their star ratings and any other form of worrying about guests who have been and gone is a waste of a host’s valuable time.
I’ve now taken to giving guest a little lecture about how anything under 5 stars is bad for the host. Something like - 4 stars means significant problems, 3 stars means really bad, 2 stars means a hellhole.
(I don’t usually mention 1 stars, but I suppose, based on the rest of this ranking, it would be the Bates Motel. So, if someone murders you in the shower in your Airbnb, you’re justified in leaving a 1 star review. No, I don’t mention this bit to the guests.)
For good measure, I also say something like - “a couple of people on this Airbnb forum I frequent reported that they were threatened with termination by Airbnb because they had an average of 4.2 stars.” Based on that recent thread. If anyone has the link to that thread, please post it.
Anyway, I don’t know if any guests would actually listen to any of this, but I figure it does not hurt to say it.
Eeek…I wouldn’t mention the forum! We aren’t an authority on anything, just a peanut gallery full of opinions.
I wait until they check out and send a message… I just say something like, “thanks for leaving the place in such great shape. I’ll leave you a five star review and would love for you to do the same for me. I’m just one five star review away from making Superhost!”
If you are replying to me, why not? It happened, right? The people who reported the threat didn’t imagine it. Actually, I think one of them might have been you. But I could be mistaken.
Anyway, it’s useful ammunition in the war for better ratings. But I don’t remember what that thread was. Maybe I should tag it or something.
I think one does need to spend a little time keeping an eye on reviews and star ratings. Especially if one is operating the Airbnb remotely or does not otherwise have much contact with guests. Talking to guests at checkout and also giving them a suggestion form and telling them to tell you immediately of problems are also useful ways to head off and/or be notified of problems before they blow up, but you still can’t depend on people to give you a good review/star rating if they have said they will.
I agree that asking guests to revise their star rating is a waste of time. Most guests consider their trip, once over, part of the dead past, and for the most part will not even respond to me when I write to them to ask them how their trip went, or any other similar innocuous triviality.
I don’t think the guests are to blame here. Before seeing this ridiculous star rating I would only ever have left 5* if it was above what i was expecting. 3* as it should be 4* good and 5* amazing!
If you’ve not seen Charlie Booker’s black Mirror on Netflix, take a look at the new season 1st episode, that’s where we’re heading between this and uber star ratings.
